Course Description

“There is a prevailing erroneous notion that women and peace and security is “a woman’s issue” that can be addressed only by women, instead of being understood as a peace and security issue for men and women and for society as a whole.” High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations 2015

Women’s empowerment, protection and participation in the context peace and security have gained momentum with the adoption of UNSC Resolution 1325 in 2000. Today, almost 20 years and several resolutions, action plans and projects later, many still struggle to consider inclusivity and gender sensitivity in their work in peace operations. There is still considerable room for improvement in overcoming stereotypes about women and men in peace and security and mainstreaming gender-sensitive approaches across peace operations. At the same time, the adoption of gender-sensitive perspective and practice is essential to effective, efficient and professional practice of crisis management and peacebuilding.

Taking stock of these developments, the Police College Baden-Württemberg and ZIF are relaunching the Women, Peace and Security course, building on almost 20 years of experiences and lessons learned on gender-sensitive approaches in the context of EU, UN, OSCE and other peace missions. This course provides the essential knowledge on this topic and equips participations with tools and skills on how to develop gender-sensitive approaches and projects in peace operations

The course is organized under the umbrella of the Training Partner Platform, the German network of police, military and civilian training institutions, engaged in preparing personnel for peace operations.

The training will be held in English.

Learning objectives and course content

Learning objectives

This course aims at sensitizing police, civilian and military participants for the importance of gender in crisis management and peacebuilding, as well as equipping them with the necessary skills and tools to integrate a gender perspective into peace missions.At the end of the course, the participants:

understand and reflect on gender identities and roles in armed conflict and in peacebuilding,

are aware of forms of sexual- and gender-based violence during armed conflict,

are familiar with UNSC Resolution 1325 and follow-up Resolutions on gender, peace and security and know examples of how they apply in practice,

are able to conduct a gender analysis and stakeholder mapping of conflict settings,

know how to integrate a gender perspective into their work / into programming of peace missions.

Course Modules (to be confirmed)

Relevance of the topic and reflections on gender identities

Gendered roles and SGBV in armed conflict and peacebuilding

UNSC Resolution 1325 and related resolutions

Analysis tools: Conflict and gender analysis, stakeholder mapping

Awareness of sexual exploitation and abuse

Gender-sensitive project management

Course Audience

This course is designed for civilian, police, and military experts who work in peace missions or international organizations in the area of peace and security. Prior experience with the issue of gender is not necessary. However, experience in peace operations or with international organisations in crisis areas is a prerequisite.

Course venue

Course Fee

Since ZIF is a member of the National Training Partner Platform, members of the ZIF Expert Roster only have to cover the cost for accommodation and food.

Usually, the cost are about €130/week. Insurance and travel costs are not included in the course fee and will not be reimbursed.

For external applicants

For external applicants the costs are about €675/week. Insurance, visa and travel costs are not included.

ZIF does not offer scholarships.

Application process

For members of the ZIF Expert Roster

If you are a member of the ZIF Expert Roster, please apply via your profile in the ZIF database by clicking on the 'Apply Now' button on the top right side of this webpage and following the directions. If the application deadline has passed, please contact the ZIF course contact person directly.

Please note that we require a short and relevant motivation statement (min. 2 paragraphs, max. 1 page) for this course.

For external applicants

All external applicants send their application (motivation letter and CV) directly to Mr. Walter Sturm at Walter.Sturm(at)polizei.bwl.de. You cannot apply for this course via the ZIF database.